SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 207

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 207: Easter Egg (3)

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As soon as I said, "I want to talk with you," the Tower Master gazed intently at my face.

After about a minute,

The Tower Master nodded and led the way.

"Okay. Follow me."

I walked following the Tower Master's direction.

"This way."

A decayed alley.

Old tiled houses lined the alleyway.

It was not the neat atmosphere of a traditional Hanok* village.

*Traditional Korean houses.

The tiles were worn and overgrown with weeds. The once demolished stone walls had never been repaired, enduring the weight of time in their collapsed state.

'Why do these Hanoks look like this?'

I was about to voice my sense of incongruity when,

"These houses are relics from the Japanese colonial era."

Clump.

The Tower Master walked ahead, speaking softly.

"During the war, this city was overrun almost instantly. That's why it retains more remnants of the past than other places."

"A war?"

"The Korean War."

A summer stench wafted up from the sewers.

"These are houses that missed their time to die."

"......."

A procession of tiled houses whose owners had nothing but long pedigrees seemed to watch us.

Rather than looking antique, they resembled faces mottled with age spots.

We walked along a stone-walled path bulging like a boil, opened a gate whose lacquer had peeled away, and crossed a courtyard where not even weeds grew.

"Please wait here for a moment."

I sat on the large, wooden-floor veranda and waited.

There was no air conditioning or even a fan, only the shade of the eaves to cool my head.

Meeeh, meeehm, meeeh… Eh…

Under the direct sunlight, cicadas cried out.

Shortly after, the Tower Master returned with a tray.

"I have nothing to serve you as a guest."

"No, I'm sorry for suddenly coming like this."

I respectfully received the cup with both hands.

The stainless-steel cup, something you'd find in a school cafeteria, was filled with water.

"This is probably the first time we have met."

The Tower Master sat formally and bowed her head slightly.

"I'm a third-year student of Shinseo Middle School, Class A, Jaa Soo-Jeong."

"Ah."

I realized I hadn't introduced myself.

"I'm known as Kim Gong-ja."

"Yes, Mr. Kim Gong-ja. What would you like to talk about?"

"......."

How should I put it?

Curious about why you, who seem like the Tower's owner, are here?

Would you tell me how you ended up creating the Tower?

But.

"There's something..."

The question that slipped out was entirely different.

"You mentioned your name is Jaa Soo-Jeong…"

"Yes."

"May I ask what it means?"

"My surname is Jaa, of the Jungwon Jaa clan."

The Tower Master took out a notebook from her briefcase.

Jaa Soo-Jeong.

The name was written 慈水晶. A finely sharpened pencil stitched black lines across the blank paper.

'That's the Tower Master's name.'

Perhaps a name that only exists in this world.

Yet, I witnessed the Tower Master's name for the first time in our Tower.

'Jaa Soo-Jeong.'

I repeated the pronunciation in my mouth.

Never forget it.

"Are there any other family members living here with you?"

"Yes. Until last year, I lived with my uncle, but now I live alone."

"May I ask what happened?"

"An intruder broke in and murdered my uncle. Three men who were with my uncle at the time were murdered as well. The case is still open, so it is difficult for me to tell you much."

There was no trace of emotion in the Tower Master's words.

No. She had been expressionless all along.

From the first meeting till now.

"Do you know about [the Tower]?"

"Which Tower are you referring to?"

"The Tower of Babel. It suddenly appeared in our world one day, and if you merely think that you want to go there, you can enter after a few procedures. Once inside, a whole new world opens before you... Mm."

I felt a bit embarrassed mid-sentence.

I sound exactly like a member of some religious cult.

I cleared my throat.

"Anyway, you don’t know?"

The Tower Master quietly shook her head.

"Yes. I don’t know."

"[Pillar]? Have you heard of [Hunter]?"

"I presume, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja, the words you just mentioned carry a different meaning than usual. I only understand the words 'pillar' and 'hunter' in their general sense."

"……I see."

Somehow.

The more the conversation progressed, the deeper the sense of incongruity became.

'The Tower Master has no memory of being one.'

The girl in front of me really doesn't know the Tower.

'The atmosphere is completely different even though the voice is the same.'

A god who lost her memory.

Whatever the hidden story or situation might be, the child sitting in front of me lacks the power of the Tower Master and even the memory.

She is simply living the life assigned to her.

"......."

Asking her about the Tower now would be fruitless.

I redirected my curiosity.

"You've been answering all the questions I've asked so far, is that okay? You even mentioned a burglar broke in. What if I was a criminal with bad intentions?"

"It’s okay."

The Tower Master slowly opened her lips.

"If Mr. Kim Gong-Ja were a criminal, you would have made contact at a different place, not at the crossroads."

"Excuse me?"

"I cross two underpasses on my way home from school. One of them is deserted. The lights are broken, and it's dark with several recessed areas. A criminal planning an attack would have ambushed me in the underpass or waited in ambush."

The Tower Master continued, still sitting formally.

"When I saw your face, there was no sign of an impromptu crime. Your gaze was always on my face. Especially our eye contact. If you were worried I might run, you would have watched my lower body; if you anticipated resistance, my hands; if you targeted me personally, my body. But Mr. Kim Gong-ja, you only observed my face. That’s typical of someone trying to recognize a known person."

"Uh......"

"Even just now, what Mr. Kim Gong-ja focused on was my name. A sign that you are curious about my personal information. When I left to fetch water, you didn’t thoroughly inspect the inside of the house. A criminal would naturally check if there's a third party inside, the structure of the house, but you didn’t."

The Tower Master held the stainless-steel cup with both hands.

A sip of water moistened the Tower Master's lips.

"Your actions do not fit those of a criminal, Mr. Kim Gong-ja. Therefore, I judge that you are not a criminal with ill intent towards me."

"......."

"Thus, to answer your question, yes. I am okay with answering."

Meeeeeeeh-

Cicada sounds echoed in the large wooden veranda.

I listened dully to the stretching sounds of summer.

‘...Ah!’

I snapped back to reality.

“You’re very articulate. And smart.”

“Yes."

The Tower Master matter-of-factly affirmed.

“I am smart.”

"......."

I realized.

Even if she had lost her memory, the girl in front of me was no ordinary individual.

“Um, would it be okay if I used the restroom for a moment...?”

“Go around to the back of the house, you’ll find it there. Be careful on your way back.”

On my way back from the outhouse, I belatedly understood why the Tower Master had said, "Be careful on your way back," rather than the more usual "Take care."

It was then.

"Huh?"

I sensed a faint presence from a warehouse in the corner of the backyard.

The presence didn’t seem to move.

It just crouched quietly beyond the warehouse.

"......."

What is this?

Despite the hot summer, a chill ran down my spine.

As I looked at the old warehouse door, the presence stayed silent, almost as if confronting my gaze head-on.

‘What the hell is it?’

I approached to investigate.

With every step, the presence felt stronger.

Ssssh.

The sensation of cold fingers brushing over the nape of my neck grew distinct.

‘Hey, what are you?’

I tried releasing Aura, but there was no response.

The presence did not lessen but rather seemed to draw closer.

One step.

Another step.

‘What the fuck?’

I swallowed nervously.

The moment I tentatively grasped the warehouse door handle,

"Don’t go in."

Something grabbed the hem of my clothes from behind.

"Don’t enter."

Turning around, I saw the Tower Master looking up at me expressionlessly.

When did she come here?

“Huh…?"

“If Mr. Kim Gong-Ja goes in, the [children] will get scared.”

Children.

“Um, what children do you mean…?”

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Rrrrrk.

The Tower Master opened the warehouse door.

As the door opened, the presence inflated dramatically.

What was merely a brushing sensation became as tangible as scratching with nails.

"......."

"Sorry. A guest has come."

Inside the warehouse were piles of curtains.

As the Tower Master pulled aside the curtain, there was just a full-length mirror.

As soon as the mirror was revealed, the presence vanished as if washed away.

“Stay calm.”

The Tower Master took a towel nearby and wiped the surface of the mirror.

I was left standing behind, merely watching her.

"That, that mirror. Isn’t it strange or something?”

"Yes. It is a strange child.”

"It seems like it could harm people…"

"This child no longer harms people."

The Tower Master put away the cloth and covered the mirror again with the curtain.

The presence was still felt but not as ferocious as before.

It felt more like crouching quietly.

"Isn’t there a risk it might harm someone in the future?”

"That's the same for humans.”

"......."

Meow.

A cat's meow sounded from my feet.

Out of nowhere, a [puppy doll] had climbed onto my foot.

"......."

Meoow.

Undoubtedly, unmistakably, a cat's meow came from the puppy doll, which should have neither a mouth nor vocal cords.

“What’s this?’’

“That’s Meow.”

A name that shouldn’t be given to a puppy doll.

“Never pat its head thinking it’s cute.”

“What happens if I do?”

“It will keep meowing in your head every six seconds until it finds a new owner.”

“…Seriously?”

“Yes."

“Crazy.”

“It's quiet now because it's placed in the puppy doll. It's pondering whether it's a cat or a dog, so it's put off looking for a new owner. Before relying on others, it's a child who first ponders its own identity. Quite diligent.”

“This still seems quite dangerous?”

“It's okay. Once it establishes its identity, I plan to move it to a squirrel doll.”

“Excuse me…?”

“Then it will ponder for about a year whether it's really a squirrel or not. Just keep changing its body every 10 to 13 months, and it's safe. Now, Meow, don’t bother the guest. Come here.”

The Tower Master grabbed the puppy doll by the nape.

Meowww.

The identity-confused doll was placed on a shelf.

“My word.”

I looked around the warehouse in astonishment.

Countless objects I could not identify were displayed on the shelves.

On the wall hung a frame that changed to Raviel's image as I looked at it.

“What’s that?”

“It shows the person you love the most.”

The Tower Master was nonchalant.

“Don’t look at it for too long. The more you look, the more your memory of the loved one fades. Conversely, the photo becomes more vivid. Once all memories of the loved one are gone, it then shows the second person you love.”

I quickly looked away.

“Why do you keep these things?”

“They'd cause trouble for people if they were elsewhere.”

“Aren't you scared? These are like ghosts."

“That's a strange question.”

The Tower Master tilted her head.

“If they are ghosts, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja, you have one following you too.”

I blinked.

“...Excuse me?”

“There."

The Tower Master pointed behind me.

“There’s a muscular ghost following you, Mr. Kim Gong-ja.”